Caught Up :: SHORT HIATUS
by Berubi
Summary: His heart began to pound with frantic anxiety: where in the world could a five ton ship have been moved to without any type of disturbance? Chp 7 TrunksxOC Short hiatus-my computer has officially died.-Ultimate sad face!-
1. Chapter One:  Smooth Sailing

**Chapter One**

**Smooth Sailing**

**x-x-x**

"Now, you're sure you have everything, Trunks?" Bulma asked worriedly. There was uncertainty lining the wrinkles of her seasoned face. She kept her hands in front of her heart. "Food? Water? Oxygen? Money? Medicine? Underwear?"

Trunks sighed. '_She's my mother alright…'_ "Yes mother. I do."

Bulla trooped up behind Bulma with her signature crossed arms and argumentative face. "Seriously, why can't I tag along with him? Schools out, most of my friends are away, the mall is closed and I'll just be stuck here with you and dad!" she declared.

"And what is just so bad about that?" Bulma laughed. Yet the lighthearted laughter was greeted by silence. With a dismal sigh, she faced her precocious daughter. "Bulla, your brother wants to go alone on a tour of the galaxy for new technology."

Bulla's hands flew to her hips. "Um, Hello? I have the best Tech in this house. Our family may be Capsule Corp's owners but I'm the epitome of everything New and Tech!"

"Oh Bulla, please…" Bulma's right hand smacked her forehead.

"Let it go, Girl." Vegeta emerged from the hallway arm over arm.

However, her father's discouragement only made her more persistent. "But Dad…_Daddy_…it's not _fair_. I _never_ got to go into space." She whined.

Vegeta only closed his eyes and cocked an eyebrow. He knew his daughter's furtive tricks all too well. He simply stated, "Little Girls don't belong in space."

In defeat, Bulla's head dropped and her arms fell at her sides. "I'm not _little_. I'm 15." She mumbled.

Bulla felt her torso be pulled against a hardened one: her father's. "Next time, Bulla." was all he said.

Trunks loaded the last of his luggage into the craft and added another check mark to his list. The little pad was completely filled with odd bits and ends from the weeks past with objectives to getting his trip on its leg and off the ground. Finally it was time to depart.

"Now you be careful, Trunks!" Bulma warned smothering her son in her bosom. "It's a crazy galaxy out there."

Bulla left her father's hold to embrace her brother. "Yeah…be careful, bro." She agreed trounced.

Trunks' lavender hair fell like a curtain around his mother and sister's heads. "Guys, I promise, I'll be fine. I can take care of myself." He kissed their heads and pulled them closer.

"Vegeta," Bulma called from her son's neck, "aren't _you_ going to say goodbye?"

"Humph." Vegeta rolled his distant eyes. "He'll be back before we know it Bulma."

Trunks inwardly laughed. '_He's so loving…Leave it to him to turn a heartfelt moment into something ignoble.'_

Leaving the interlocked circle of arms, Bulla snatched her father by his hand. "Dad, say good bye!" She commanded as she dragged him over to the others. "We're a family and that means you are obliged to the little things, even Group hugs!"

Bulma laughed and held her tiny family. "Bulla…"

A displeased grunt escaped Vegeta's throat but he snaked his arms around his wife and daughter with Trunks in the midst. The boy uncomfortably flinched at the hefty pat on his back by his father. As he looked up, Trunks noticed a rueful blush come over his father's face. "There. Now are we through?" the impatient Saiyan questioned.

"YEAH DAD! Sheshhh…just ruin it why don'tcha!" Bulla snapped, breaking apart from group to walk up the platform's steps irately. The combined laughter of Bulma and Trunks echoed off the walls of the launch quarter. Vegeta groaned, "I'll never understand females…"

Trunks crawled into the cockpit of the Lemniscate, the most advanced space craft Capsule Corp had created thus far. Black, white and orb shaped, it stood over twenty-one feet tall and was balanced on a tripod system of legs. He over looked the control panel of the Lemniscate's mother board and proceeded with the systems check. Back and forth, he and his mother conveyed the scoring of the ship's being. When all was clear, Bulma began the launch initiation sequence. "Ok Trunks, this is it."

The mechanized female voice counted down from 60, allowing for Trunks to adjust his seating arrangements and control board to his suit.

_ Six…Five…Four…Three…Two…One…Ignition._

After a few seconds for the engine to warm, the ship lightly hovered in place for a moment. Trunks instinctively pressed the green ignition button and at the pressure, the craft took off at hyper speed with out a trail of smoke in its wake. In a blink of an eye, the Lemniscate was off and out of the Earth's atmosphere, traveling faster than any space craft ever created. Trunks struggled to keep his equilibrium through the turbulence in escaping the planet's gravitational pull. It would be a few more moments before the ship stabilized and LAMB, the composed feminine voice of the ship, announced its switch to cruise mode and for the passenger to freely move.

Trunks left his black leather chair and stood on the elevator-platform square, pushing the down arrow with his foot. The lift stopped on the Den floor; the part of the ship that was the main living quarter of the ship. It was composed of a spacious living room, a fully operational kitchen as well as an equivalent bathroom. It was quite a modern floor in the sense of its ambiance. Greens, whites, blues and browns dominated the color-scape. The furniture was geometric in form albeit their resilience and the room it self had an eco-friendly touch to it. _'Heh, My mother out did her self this time…'_

Suddenly, there was a fanfare from the center of coffee table and the Holo-screen had turned itself on. The words "Now loading: Live Transmission." appeared sharply in red and were quickly replaced by a full resolution image of his mother's bust.

"Trunks, from this point, it is smooth sailing. Should you have any problems with the ship contact me **immediately**." She ordered.

"Will do Mom." He replied coolly. "I promise."

"And Trunks," Bulma began with her index finger in its scolding position.

"Yes?"

"Stay away from those Alien Girls."


	2. Chapter Two: Sin Mere

**Chapter Two**

**Sin Mere**

**x-x-x**

"Man…I can't believe this: twelve planets and not one of them had any type of advanced technology. Or anything interesting for that matter…" Trunks flatly stated to the holographic Goten.

Goten frowned and scratched his head. "Seriously? Dude, that sucks."

"Tell me about it. And on top of that I nearly got mauled by a Thrasvin Kobo Worm."

"A trash-bin-hobo-what?"

"Not trash bin hobo!" Trunks' head rolled to one shoulder. "A Thrasvin Kobo Worm."

Goten caught sight of his best friend's belittling stare. "Oh. Hey, don't look at me like that. You should be more clear when you're talking about Homo worms."

"Homo-I jus-! AGH! Oh jeez…how much more clearer can I get?" Trunks began to rub his temples.

"Not as clear as this!" Goten fidgeted in his seat, digging into his pockets with his tongue sticking out playfully. When he found what he was looking for, he revealed a pink box with a diamond ring on the inside to an instantaneously stunned Trunks.

In a spasmodic motion, Trunks nearly flipped over the white leather couch. "Whoa! Is that for who I think it's for?"

The big cheesy grin on the Hologram's face was confirmation enough. "Yeah. I'm serious bro. She's the one: Valese is the one."

Trunks struggled to crawl back on the sofa. Still in complete mental shock, he only choked up, "Holy hell, Goten!"

"I know! I mean, I know I'm only twenty two but I'm pretty sure we're meant to be. We've been together for…" Goten set the box down to display his mental math across his fingers. "…six years. That's pretty serious, right?"

"Yeah, that is true." Trunks agreed. He could recall all the memories of them dating, having fun and never actually arguing or breaking up. "So…when are you going to pop the big one?"

"Well…" The younger Saiyan concealed the ring once more and placed the box back into his pocket. "I was kinda gonna do it sometime next week. You know, after I speak to my family about it and all…"

Trunks nodded and smiled. "I see, I see. Good luck, Goten."

"Thanks, dude! You know how my mom can be!" He laughed nervously as he tugged on his white shirt.

Trunks joined him in the laughter. He had more than his fair shares of seeing the mother of the two most powerful Saiyans on earth at her best and worst. "Oh yeah, I know…"

Goten's face gained a hint of seriousness as he spoke, "Heheh…yeah…but listen, I want you to keep it a secret from her until then, ok?"

Trunks nodded and smiled _'It's not like I'm going to see or talk to her.' _"You have my word, Goten."

"I knew I made a good choice." Goten proclaimed.

The lavender haired boy looked a bit baffled at his friend's remark. "A good choice in what?"

"In choosing my best friend." Goten smiled. "And more importantly, my best man."

With his mouth a gape, Trunks speechlessly stared at the gregarious face before him. Although his friend was not always bright, orthodox or politically correct, he sure had an odd way with tugging on a person's heart. _'He gets it from his father…'_

"Sorry to cut this short, but I gotta go, bro. My mom's beeping away out there. Hmm… maybe I should tell her now…"

"Goten!" Chi Chi's voice boomed off screen. "Do you **not** hear me beeping?"

"I did! I was just talkin' to Trunks." He responded nervously. Goten glanced at the Trunks and winked. "Hey mom, Guess what? I—"

The transmission ended abruptly and Trunks could only imagine what would ensue next. But another automated message from the Navigational deck interrupted the day dream:

"Now approaching Planet Merle. Population 4.2 billion. Atmosphere: inhabitable. Gravitation: .03 % less than that of Earth's. Revolution time: 2.564 Earth years. Rotation time: 21.67 Earth hours."

Trunks withdrew himself from the sofa to ride the platform to the control floor. As he entered the dark room, the windows' transparency was replaced by the bluish gray and white planet. It was a bit smaller than earth but it resembled it right down to the white clouds and blue seas. The only difference was that the planet had tiny twin moons that, according to LAMB, had a similar combined mass and effect on the planet as the earth's Moon does.

"Do you wish to proceed with landing upon this planet's surface?" LAMB asked.

Trunks seated himself in operating seat and tapped an array of control buttons and levers. Automatically, the ship began calculating the formalities of the landing, selecting areas on the ground that were wide, hidden and open but also close to major cities of the planet. The black and white grid of the planet's surface had a cursor darting about until it stopped in the western hemisphere of the planet.

"Most applicable landing area found. Coordinates: 36°10′30″N 115°08′11″W. Do you wish to proceed?"

"Proceed." Trunks stated.

LAMB voiced herself again, confirming the chosen action and instructing Trunks to take his seat. As soon as he did so, Trunks pushed a red button and the ship began a rapid descent to the planet's surface. It was a rough and breakneck plunge through the atmosphere which proved to be very strong. Through the flames of the high velocity air flow, Trunks could make out some of the surface features such as mountains, lakes and minute groupings of buildings.

"Now entering domestic Airspace" LAMB stated after she slowed the ship to a hover. "Heading to input coordinates."

The ship veered to the left over the purple terrain. "Now retained at a constant speed of 664 mph at an altitude of 36,000 feet." LAMB affirmed.

Trunks could see out of the panoramic window that this world was quite civilized. He could see an agricultural system splayed across the land similar to Earth's own fallowing system as well as farther inland, massive cities, road systems and cultivated water ways. The land seemed to keep growing out of the horizon. It looked as though Planet Merle was a vast and bountiful planet that had Earth like qualities right down to its flora. The trees that sprouted from the ground were a Varity of colors and in their groves, made up confetti like patches across the surface.

The Lemniscate lowered itself into one such grove about 20 miles from a major city which LAMB indicated as Sin Mere. The young captain rose from his seat to find his boots and jacket. "What is the Atmosphere composed of?" he asked already hopping off the lift to the Den Floor.

Folded over the mahogany chair in the kitchen lie Trunks' Indigo Capsule Corp Jacket. He lifted the garment up and brought it into the bathroom to see himself in the mirror. The reflection had shown him the sloppiness of his out fit: the un-tucked shirt, the saggy pants and the over turned belt. He quickly corrected them as well as adding the jacket and tying his hair into a tiny ponytail at the base of his head.

"Atmosphere is seventy-eight percent Nitrogen and twenty-one percent Oxygen as well as one percent of fourteen other trace elements." LAMB replied

'_Perfect. It's basically Earth's atmosphere out there_.' He thought as he pulled up his second boot. At his finish, he opened the bay door and walked out onto the purple ground.

Trunks ascended into the sky and out of his peripheral vision, he saw the glint of a large white buildings. They each had a myriad of windows and instinctively, he knew to fly towards it. Trunks had to admit, the Planet was gorgeous. The view was more serene in personal flight than within the Lemniscate. The Vegetation seemed more real than before, even the purple and tan fields of varied foliage were rolling like wheat fields beneath the wind he generated.

When he arrived at the city gates, Trunks was surprised to see the eloquence of its craft. Sculpted of a bronze like metal were two massive beasts staring each other down as if preparing for battle. To Trunks, they resembled hyenas with straight horns and bat wings. '_They're look more like dogs than like the cat related Hyenas of Earth…'_ Trunks shuddered at the thought. He was not a dog person.

He passed the entrance quickly only to be greeted by the hustle and bustle of the city. The air was filled with odd aromas, some good and some bad and crowds of people rushed past him in different shapes, forms and colors. _'Reminds me of New York.'_ He thought. From the corner of his eye, he saw a short blue anthropomorphic goat jogging towards him from the right, waving a rolled up stack of paper. He was dressed in a white polo, black pants and a red fez and by the looks of his face was quite annoyed.

"You sir!" the goat man called.

Trunks turned abruptly to see the creature at his hips. A bit dumbfounded, the earthling pointed to himself and stuttered, "Uh…m-me?"

"Yes you! Stay with the group!" he shouted in a bleating voice. "You wouldn't want to get lost in Sin Mere! This city may be beautiful but it's quite dangerous if you aren't alert or already know your way around." The little man caught Trunks by surprise and pulled him by the wrists back to the crowd of assorted tourists. Although he was confused and weary, Trunks hadn't sensed any harm in the being and allowed him to lead him back to the group _'This will be a good way to gather information about this place.'_

"Now, if it hasn't sunken in already, I'm Raalid and this…" The tour guide said circling the city-scape with his rolled up pointer, "…this is Sin Mere."


	3. Chapter Three: SB Hustle

**Chapter Three**

**S.B. Hustle**

**x-x-x**

Five Earth hours later, Trunks had split off from Raalid's Group when he had taken in enough knowledge about the City as well as the Planet. Soon enough, the Saiyan found himself in the part of the City known as Severn Boulev, the China Town-esque portion of Sin Mere. Like the one on Earth's New York, Sin Mere's Severn Boulev had colored banners hanging above the streets with brilliant characters splayed across each flag. Noises were abundant as well as odd and delectable aromas. Although the smells brought his hunger into consideration, he wasn't completely sure if the food was edible or safe for him to eat. He passed vendor after stall after store selling all sorts of comestible goods. Some smelled good but looked otherwise and others; Trunks would rather have settled for manure. After many similar experiences, Trunks decided it was time for him to head back to the ship.

He stood on a street sidewalk in the midst of the current of wandering Merlesions, fiddling with his Data watch. This watch was special, in the sense that it contained all the information—useless facts and data logs alike— that Trunks would ever need. In his search through his watch to find his Tracker widget to relocate his ship, a group of beings rushed towards him. Among them was a human girl, fair skinned, brown eyed and with her long wavy brown hair pulled into a ponytail, who seemed frantically trying to escape the Men behind her. She crashed into Trunks, smearing her blood on him in the collision. Although she had no time to help him up, she apologized in her struggle to regain her stride, with fear in her eyes. In a flash, she bolted through other crowd of people before filing down a dark alleyway.

_'Strange…what's a human girl doing all the way out here in the southwestern galaxy?_' he thought, wiping the blood off his cheek with a napkin from the nearest vendor. _'She doesn't look like a tourist…?'_

Others around him who were recovering from similar instances attempted to return back to their prior activities. Their ominous whispers were spoken in Merlesion but they gave Trunks a sense of unease. Shortly after Trunks had disposed of the cloth, he heard a petrified screech coming from the far east. His curiosity got the better of him as he bolted into the black sky in that direction. _'I hope that girl is ok…'_

Trunks caught up with them in an instant perching himself on a fire escape to observe the situation. Against the wall of a building, the girl was pinned by two identical Merlesions wearing black suits. The biggest of the Merlesions walked towards her, holding his left eye. Blood streamed from his covered limb as he advanced toward the group. "How dare you take my left eye? From me: Kyron U'Callaga? You'll pay for that, you filthy whore!"

In a flash his right hand flew to his side and it drew an advanced revolver like gun. "Any last words?" he asked viciously as he copped it.

"Go…to…hell…" she choked up with one of her assailant's elbow in her throat. A wad of blood and saliva hit Kyron's uncovered cheek and made him jump.

The action enraged the tall red beast even more. He nodded to one of his cohorts and in response the two of them exposed her chest. Kyron laughed as he aligned his weapon with her heart.

"DIE!" he shouted over the sound of his own weapon's firing. After a whole round was shot, smoke covered Kyron's one eyed field of vision. When he heard nothing, he let out a snarling laugh. "Serve's her right… Zane will be more than pleased to know that she's—"

Shock took Kyron's consciousness. Before him lie his subordinates dead on the ground with a man of lavender hair defensively covering his face. The hairs on Kyron's Satyr like body stood up in fear. "What the—who the fu-?"

The words were forced back in to the demon's mouth with Trunks' fist. A few of Kyron's teeth fell out and he writhed and screamed in pain. "YOU! I'll KILL YOU!"

The injured Merlesion rubbed his mouth with his free hand as he got up to charge at Trunks. He hurled a load of flimsy and uncoordinated punches towards Trunks' face; all of which he dodged. The last one of these attacks was parried and Trunks was able to kick the beast-man to the ground. With his right foot, Trunks pinned Kyron down by his left shoulder and drew himself closer to the beaten foe.

"Who are you and why were you after this girl?" Trunks demanded.

Kyron barely wiggled under the Saiyan foot. He was nearly dead.

Trunks' face twisted into a grimace. "Answer me!"

Opening his mouth to speak, Kyron began some inaudible phrase and in one exasperated grunt, crossed over into the next world. Trunks removed his foot and looked towards the girl. He rushed to her limp body, hoping that she was still alive. As he pressed his middle and index finger to her throat, he prayed that she would come to. He counted each slow beat and knew she was barely hanging on. He looked around for the messenger bag he had seen flapping behind her earlier. When he caught sight of her tiny chestnut colored bag, he opened it in search of identification. Through all the junk and papers, he found only one card with the name Camisa and the address 56-a2 North district, Severn Boulev.

Trunks knew there was no time to spare. He typed the address into the Data watch and, after re-globally positioning itself, the watch instructed Trunks to make his way to the small food restaurant known as the Shomon House; north west from his current place.

Lifting the girl carefully into his arms, the vigilante quickly took to the skies once more, following the watch's radar. With his glances away from his watch, Trunks inspected the girl more closely. The long white sweet heart top was soiled with blood and her black leggings were torn, revealing the bleeding flesh between the tears. Even the small rope and leather corset was almost completely ripped off and blackened by her blood. Seeing this wound hurried Trunks' pursuit and at that it took him no more than 5 minutes to arrive at the rustic shop.

He nearly stumbled in his land, but he was able to steady himself quickly. The darkened windows were sign enough that the proprietors had closed up. Trunks looked all around for some kind of miracle; however the dead street offered little more than an eerie silence. He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath to relax himself. He meditative thought was interrupted by a flower pot that shattered on the floor next to him. His eyes shot up and noticed a lit window.

Again, he gathered the girl close and hovered up to the window. With a tap of his foot against the pane, the inner dweller's attention was caught. It was an old green Merlesion female wearing a red kimono. She seemed to have been preoccupied with organizing some sort of mess when she was startled out of her wits by the floating stranger.

The old woman scrambled to the window. "Who are you?" She demanded in a raspy voice, "And more importantly, what happened to my granddaughter?" she screamed pointed to the beaten body.


	4. Chapter Four: So Tzu

**Chapter Four**

**So-Tzu**

**x-x-x**

Through drawn paper shades, the late afternoon sunlight seeped in sparse beams across the beige room. It was a semi-bare space with few furnishings save for a mahogany desk, table and rug set. Along the walls were similar characters and art work from the day before that nostalgically reminded Trunks of a traditional Japanese room.

From the window above Camisa's futon, a particularly large ray brought Trunks' attention to the sleeping beauties' face. She lay atop the black wooden futon with her hair removed from its ponytail and her body covered by a thin robe. The heavy bandaging was clearly forming pleats in her negligee, and particularly the ones around her waist caught Trunks' attention. Through out the night, the old woman—Aki-Oba—had to re-medicate and bandage that area at least four times before the bleeding ceased. She had assigned Trunks the duty of watching her rest to ensure she wouldn't pass during the night.

As he continued to study the rising and falling of her chest, Trunks' eyes wandered from her upper body to her neck again. He noticed at her throat's center a thin, two-inch scar which seemed as though it had been cut at an earlier time in her life. The blue eyes withdrew themselves from the tan scar and found their way to the least damaged area on her body—her face. Through her long mangled tresses, he was able make out her high cheek bones, straight nose and full lips. She possessed an alluring air that was clear along her elongated cat-like eyes and long thin eye brows. He even noticed the tiny beauty mark on her lower left eye lid. To him, she looked like she could pass for an actress on Earth but on Merle she only passed as an outsider and a Fugitive.

All sorts of questions flew into his mind about this Camisa girl was but none would be answered unless she pulled through.

Aki-Oba pushed through the paper door with her back, turning around to reveal a tray with an assortment of weird colored treats, oblong shaped cups and a wood and iron teapot placed atop it. She set the tray down on the table and rested her paw on his crossed hands. "Thank you, stranger. I do not know who you are or what business you have here, but in gratitude, I beg you: stay and join me for tea."

Trunks stood and bowed. "It was not a problem. I just hope your granddaughter will heal." he still couldn't overlook their odd relation.

The old Merlesion sighed. She kneeled at the table that nearly covered all but her head. "She is a fast healer, but this time, she has really done herself in. If only her father were still here…none of this-this nonsense would have occurred."

Trunks sat silently as he watched the woman drink her tea. She looked as though she would cry any moment but her sovereignty wouldn't allow it. The cup was returned to the table as well as a smile that seemed as though it had been missing for years. "Do forgive me. We have not been formally introduced. I Am Aki-Oba Cha-Hui-Liem: born in the rural prospect of Hui-Liem, Merle." She placed her left hand in a peace sign perpendicular over her other balled fist. "And you? You most certainly aren't from around this portion of the galaxy?"

His senses snapped back and Trunks bowed his head. "Yes. I am Trunks Briefs of Earth."

"Earth?" she raised a right antenna. "A human are you now?"

Trunks nodded. "Yes. I am."

"Mind me asking what you are doing all the way out here?"

"My family owns a Technology based corporation and I've been searching the galaxy for gadgets and inspiration to create new technology back home."

"I see." The woman grabbed a blue and pink rectangle and popped it into her mouth. She chewed it quickly like a squirrel and dabbed at her mouth with a napkin. "Please do eat. This is edible cuisine for Humans." She laughed. "Otherwise I think my granddaughter would be thinner than she is if it weren't."

Trunks chuckled slightly and grabbed a golden brown oval. He bit into it, expecting the worst but oddly enough it tasted like pita bread. He smiled along with the old goat until she flinched at the rustling sound from the futon. Aki-Oba uttered something in Merlesion and Camisa responded groggily back.

Finally, Aki-Oba reverted to her previous tongue. "So-Tzu, this is the man who brought you here last night. He saved you from whatever predicament you got yourself in."

Camisa bowed her head and placed her hands in the same position Aki-Oba had done earlier. "Thank you. You did not have to intervene." She thanked, ebbing pain into the latter part of her praise. She had made no attempt to raise her head.

Trunks caught on and figured it was her shame or pride speaking through her. He ignored it smiled. "Honestly, it was not a problem." _'If only you two could have sensed how weak those guys were…'_

Aki-Oba stood and bowed. "Do forgive my part, but I should head out into the city for more medicinal supplies. The girl will need them. Would you mind watching her again?" she motioned the kneeling girl.

"Not at all." Trunks replied.

"Thank you. Now if I may…" the old Goat left the room and after a few minutes, the front door had slammed.

Trunks stood up and looked at the thin woman on the bed. "Are you ok? Do you want something to eat or drink? I don't think you should be moving so quickly after last night."

Camisa looked off to the window perpendicular to her bed. "…Don't worry about me…" she trailed off. She limped on her feet to peer out of the window. Below, she spotted her grandmother bobbing through a crowd on the street.

Trunks stood directly behind her, more austere than before. "Camisa? Do you mind me asking why those men were after you?"

She waited for her grandmother to turn the corner before she replied, "Did you know a goat's hearing is fifty six times that of a human's?"

The earthling was baffled by the comment. "Uh…no, I did not know that."

"Well now that you do, please allow at least ten minutes to pass when my grandmother is leaving the vicinity to ask any questions concerning the incident. My happenings, should they come to her ears, would break her heart."

"I understand. But if you'd please…?"

"They wanted my eyes." She stated blatantly. Her brown orbs locked with Trunks' blue ones.

Confused, Trunks only mustered up a whimsy, "What?"

"If you hadn't noticed already, all the Merlesions on this planet have yellow eyes and rise no taller than five feet; save for the stronger, more humanoid ones."

Although she was re-stating information Trunks had already gathered, Camisa brought it to his attention forthrightly. "But what does that have to do with you?"

She sighed and walked past him to drink from a flask on her desk. It seemed as though the more she drank, the more her inhibition flew past her. "My father was a man named Aubin Seiroux: a typical mob boss in the sense that he ran an empire with a loyal crew." she stated flatly with out remorse. "Up until last year, of course…when he passed..."

Camisa furrowed through the chest at the end of the futon and pulled out an outfit similar to the one he had on yesterday. With the clothes in hand, Camisa motioned for him to leave the room. He left; but as he stood outside the paper door, he could see the room light up and her silhouette dress. He still wondered how she was able to move so quickly with out doubling over at her waist in pain but opted against questioning the matter.

"I'm sorry to hear." Trunks apologized.

"Thank you. However, you can be no more sorrowful than I. I believe he was murdered by one of his closest subordinates for his esteemed fortune because at Grand Riddance, there was much talk about his will." Camisa emerged from behind the door and began down the narrow hallway to the staircase. "Come along. You must be hungry. My Oba-Ska prefers to fill our guest on sweets instead of food. I'll explain more as we eat."

x-A/N: Grand Riddance = Funeral. The suffixes -Tzu and -Ska are pet like in the manner that -chan, -san, and -kun are. :] Please R & R.-x


	5. Chapter Five: Ki & Flight: Part One

**Chapter Five**

**Ki & Flight: Part One**

**x-x-x**

"So, you're telling me your eyes are some kind of key to your father's fortune?" Trunks asked confusedly. He had just finished a bowl of rice and an odd piece of meat from an animal called a Kenkey bird.

"I believe so. However, I could be wrong." Camisa re-corked the blue bottle she drank from. "Regardless, I'm going to keep on my highest guard."

"I'd do the same if I wer-OW!" A large, blue sphere crashed with a thud on Trunks head and bounced off into his lap. "Guess I spoke too soon, huh?" he laughed.

"I would say so!" she giggled with her hand covering her mouth. "That must have hurt; elppa fruit aren't very soft."

Trunks looked up to the trees that towered above him. They must have been at least eighty feet tall. "What a long drop. Well, are these fruits any good?" he asked as he polished the blue fruit in his jacket.

"They are very sweet, but I'm afraid the one you have is rotten. The ripe ones are orange. If you want a ripe one, I could get one for you?"

Trunks placed the elppa fruit onto the purple grass. He smiled at her sweet nature. "And how would you go about that? It's really high up."

"Well," she began, standing up off the ground to measure the tree with her angled fingers, "I'll just run inside and get the climbing gear from the house to pick the fruit… getting up there may be the scary part seeing as I can't— FLY!"

"Here you go! Two ripe elppa fruits for you and me, huh?" he handed her the shiny orange fruit with a hearty laugh.

Camisa couldn't believe her eyes. She rubbed the deceitful balls only to still see the levitating Trunks. "YO-YOU'RE FLOATING!"

Trunks laughed nervously. "Sorry to freak you out but I didn't want you to have to go inside and come back out here to do all that work; so allow me."

He replanted himself on the ground only to uncomfortably grin at her fascinated and shocked face. Camisa's glance toggled between the fruit and the man before her. As her eyes chose the latter, she questioned, "What kind of human are you?"

"Well…I'm only half human. The other half is Saiyan."

"Saiyan? But I've heard stories that they are an extinct race. How could that be?"

"It's quite a long complex story, but in short my father is the lost Prince Vegeta."

Trunks had expected her to revel in that fact seeing as she had known of his people's annihilation but instead she clasped her hands and seriously asked, "Could you teach me to fly?"

That was not his expected response. But nonetheless he humored her. "Well, I could try. It took me a year to completely master this ability."

Camisa nodded in compliance. "I see, well I must say, I'm a quick leaner so I should grasp the concept within the day." She proudly stated. "Now, shall we begin?"

With a shrug of his shoulders, the lavender boy stood up to direct her. "Alright. You first need to clear your mind of any extraneous thoughts. That's first."

Closing her eyes and drawing deep breathes, Camisa relaxed herself and drew mental self to a closed trance state. After a few minutes of silence passed, she moaned, "Continue…please…"

"The next thing you have to do is focus your internal energy: your Ki." He instructed.

"How…how do I…do that?" she managed to breathe.

That was a good question. Pondering how best to word he, he crossed his arms and tapped his foot like his mother had when she was in thought. "Begin by listening to your heart." He finally said. "Feel it pump your blood and feel your blood course through your veins."

Several moments past as nothing occurred except for the Merlesion wind blowing through the foliage. Trunks' doubts began to mount. _'Quick learner or not there's no way she'll—' _

His thoughts were interrupted by the crackling sound of collecting energy. The air around them began to spark, creating a restricted electric whirl wind around them. Camisa's white top fluttered with the rapid air flow in the same manner her tied up hair did. Trunks could feel her energy manifesting itself; she was not as weak as he perceived her originally. Perhaps she could learn more than just flight. "Good Camisa. Now, I'm sure you feel it building up in your chest and stomach; quite invigorating huh?"

The Girl hastily laughed. She was delighted that he knew what she was feeling. "Yeah!"

"Since that energy has accumulated, I want you to give it form. Try to imagine it as if you are filling a balloon with air." He instructed. "You got it?"

Camisa nodded stiffly. "This is difficult."

"I never did say it was going to be easy." He chuckled. The once loose girl before him had begun to tense. As he noticed her instinctually parallel her hand before her stomach, he realized this was coming quite naturally to her. "Very good! Remember to keep breathing and relax. With you hands like that, draw the energy out of your body to bring it before you; hold it as though you would hold a ball."

In the spaces between her flared fingers, stints and volts of energy surged to the middle of her palms. There was a flash of light that frightened her and nearly knocked her out of her focus. "Don't be frightened of this energy. It's only an extension of yourself."

Again, Camisa focused her eyes and the energy to the midst of her hands. She closed her eyes and within the instant, a shining white sphere formed. At first it was tiny, about the size of a marble. But the more Camisa drew her hands away; it grew tenfold and became the size of her head. When she betook the sight before her she could not believe it was she who had created the glowing orb; her astonished brown eyes had been fooled again.

"Look! I did it! Trunks I did it!" she shouted gleefully. Her entire body relaxed as he continued to hold the orb under her hands.

In an equal elation, Trunks clapped his hand and grinned widely. "I can see that. Congratulations, Camisa! Now you ready for the next step?

Eagerly the Merlesion Human nodded and laughed, "Yeah!"

"I want you to throw it at the tree, ok?"

"Throw it?" she was baffled by the request and held the orb in her left hand. Nonetheless, she readied her body for the toss. She inhaled deeply, focusing her eyes on hole in the broad old tree. And then—she hurled it fast!

The energy sphere blasted bark in every direction, deeply cutting an oval grove into the tree. Trunk was truly surprised at her new ability. He had to admit: it took her one hundred times less the time to learn how to control her Ki than it had taken for his little sister when he taught her._ 'And she's a mere human? Hardly believable…' _he thought

"How was that?" she eagerly asked facing him. Her excited hopes were brimming in her dark eyes.

"Excellent would be an understatement, Camisa." He praised her. "Now that you've learned a simple Ki blast, you can do a lot with it."

"Like what?"

"Ki is your energy. You can use it to harm or heal and in the same manner, you can release it like you just did or reabsorb it. To reabsorb Ki you reverse the process of making it and exhale when it is completely absorbed to avoid overexerting your body with excess energy."

"I see. Now, the flying aspect?" she pressed on, slightly disregarding his newly given information.

"You're a hasty one aren't you?" he laughed.

Camisa revealed her pearly whites daftly. "I wouldn't call it haste…perhaps thrill?

"Surely. Well. Try to recall your Ki when it was in you stomach and instead of letting it build there, focus it at the bottom of your feet." He stated simply.

"Let's see if I can!" Camisa stretched quickly and began to gather her energy. Again the iridescent volts and wind picked up, stronger than they had before. They lashed out in every direction, nearly pelting Trunks more than a few times. It was evident in the energetic flow that her excitement was a catalyst to her progress. Trunks kept an eye on her short brown heeled boots; he expected lift off to begin momentarily. Sure enough, Camisa lifted a foot off the ground and held herself in place. She opened her eyes and nearly lost her sanity at her new ability. "Trunk…I'm doing it….I'm really doing it!" she whispered in a high pitch voice.

"Congratulations!" he whispered back playfully.

"Thank you, thank you—THANK YOU!" she shouted as she whirled around in a circle and launched herself into the air inexplicably. She nearly cleared half the tree before her train of energy was lost. As quickly as she flew up she came down. Camisa braced herself for the brutal embrace the ground would have for her. Instead she found another, more mortal embrace.

Camisa found herself lanky in Trunks' arms with buckled knees and her own arms toppled over on her waist. Trunks laughed at the confused expression on her face. "Be careful, Camisa. You don't want to over do it or let your emotions completely over take your Ki."

She nodded in agreement as they landed on the Merlesion soil. Her persistence got the better of her as she again attempted to fly with less excitement interfering with her focus. "How's this?" She asked from her lifted position.

A shake from his delighted head was all Trunk needed to say. "Camisa, you really are amazing. You gathered this faster than anyone I know who can fly, including myself. It took me a week to levitate like you."

Flattered by his words, Camisa smiled coyly. "Thank you. I appreciate your esteem. But how about we go for a flight? That way I can practice and I can show you my two favorite places in the city?"

"Sure." Trunks said instantly floating up to her position in the sky. "Lead the way."


	6. Chapter Six:  Ki & Flight: Part Two

**Chapter Six**

**Ki & Flight: Part Two**

**x-x-x**

And lead she did.

The excited brunette led Trunks to a myriad of exotic places; spanning bridges, panoramic gardens, bizarre rock formations, even the eldest and tallest tree, the Bjin.

It stood in the center of Common Square Park, twisted around itself like a bonsai tree with three weeping heads instead of one. In the setting sunlight, the grey giant that blossomed pink lotus-like flowers on its mauve vines had darkened in color and began to close its flora. Night was eminent.

"Isn't it spectacular, Trunks? The biggest tree you've ever seen?" she queried giddily.

"It's really big, that's for one." Trunks affirmed. Even the giant sequoia General Sherman, Earth's largest tree, was a dwarf in comparison.

With out warning, Camisa dove straight into the tree's natural curtain of vines, leaving Trunks to watch the hanging limbs whip around as though the plant itself were dancing to Camisa's laughter. Trunks chuckled at how easily thrilled she was by flying around the armature of the tree; it made him appreciate his own abilities more as opposed to being the normal human he sometimes wanted to be. Should his father have known his next action, he would've have scolded him for acting soft or being immature or a combination of both, but Trunks diminished that inhibition as flew in after her. His father was a million miles away.

In no time, Trunks caught up to her whizzing around through the branches and began to chase her through the twisted maze. Round and round they flew, above and below each snaking branch, faster and faster, until Trunks had found himself chasing no one. He pulled himself from the tree to see Camisa floating inches from his face, smiling teasingly.

"I tricked you." She pointed out boldly. Trunks shook his head. '_A human is a human no matter the planet.'_ He thought. Before he could deject, she primly stated, "Come: we have one more place to see." She fixed her clothing breathlessly as she waited for her companion to fully emerge from the tree before they took off in into the sorbet sky westward.

By the time the reached the last destination, the Sun was just dipping below the skyline. "This is the Stellar building: the tallest and most beautiful building in all of Sin Mere." Camisa bespoke.

In response he nodded and asked, "Is that all you wanted to show me?"

"No. Follow me." She plainly stated as she vertically scaled the building. They ascended the structure, running parallel to its continuous blur of flashing window panes. They climbed story after story until they trumped the cityscape at their perching on the look out deck. Side by side, the two looked out past the colorful checkerboard of buildings and roads to the sky.

"I really wanted you to see the Sun set up here." She shyly confessed. "I used to come here all the time with my Father..." The pain was evident in the trailed off remark but Trunks said nothing; hoping not to bring the subject up again. Camisa lightly laughed to herself as she rocked her limp hand over the railing. The winds had taken control of the silent air as the pair continued to watch the glistening horizon.

Then as though she had been seen something mesmerizing, she pointed a delicate finger to the sky, saying "Look! Look there; the moons are cresting!"

When he saw the sight before him, Trunks was taken aback by the three celestial bodies. The two rocky moons, one a delicate pink and the other a soft blue, were diagonally centimeters apart to his naked eye. They seemed to reflect one another as the assumed their rightful positions in the heavens before the anxious, on-looking duo. Camisa turned to him and said, "This is a once in a lifetime event: the moon Xifias is almost completely above Xifios. Our people celebrate this rare occurrence.

With his eyes entranced by the moons, he tepidly asked, "How come?"

"Have you seen the two large statues of the Yenago at the main gate of the city?"

A spasmodic flinch in recognition rocked Trunks from his lunar trance; he remembered the _dogs_. "You mean the winged Hyena statues?" he nearly stated stiffly rather than asked.

"What is a Hy-ena?" Camisa gave him a strange look, completely focused on her question and oblivious to his fear.

"They're a creature from my home world that the statues reminded me of, that's all. I was just making associations." He contested over his misread statement.

A light grin claimed her lips as she turned to face the moons again. "Oh, well yes. The Hy-ena statues were the saviors of the Forgotten Times, the masters of water and fire: Xifias and Xifios. They were once the loyal servants of the Goddess Amenao who created all the life on Merle which was then known as Sabula. For many years, all was wonderful and harmonious in her holiness' kingdom until her brother, the terribly jealous lord of Thanoc of the underworld had tried to over throw her. After years of scheming, Thanoc sent his five sons and their individual armies to wage war on the Merlesions. Amenao's people cried out to her and in rage, she stepped down from her solar throne with her servants in tow."

"So there was an epic battle I assume?" he surmised as he retied his hair in a ponytail at the base of his head.

"You guessed it. For a week straight, she and the masters fought with out rest, battling beast after beast. It was a clash beyond verbal explanation; exhilarating to say the least. When it was over, the remaining Merlesions celebrated in their Creator and her servants' names and victory but their Celebration would inevitably end in sorrow: though Amenao was scathed, her immortality spared her but not her servants."

Trunks nodded for her to continue her tale in which Camisa obliged. "In her heartbreak, she saw suit that her servants have commemoration above all other beings in the after world. So she incarnated their souls into the moons before you. That is the reason we celebrate the alignment of the moons: for their heroic passing and remuneration."

"Quite a sad story, Camisa."He lifted his gaze from the passing forms on the street and looked toward the black sky. "You told it very well. But I think we should really get going; it's late and I don't want your grandmother to think I kidnapped you or something."

"Alright, that is a reasonable thought, I suppose. She is quite protective of me." Camisa agreed as she levitated off the roof. She looked back at him who starred at her in front of the buildings railing.

"Come along Trunks, I hadn't realized how late it WASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" A few sparks popped from under Camisa's boots and in a flash she was hurdling toward the pavement. The Doppler Effect her voice had was in quick proportion to the speed of her rapid fall. She screamed a pitch so loud it shook the on lookers below who gasped and turned away in belief that a bloody end was eminent. Window after window, she fell at a breakneck pace until her hand was snatched— by a thicker, powerful one.

Her body jerked in the grasp and through dilated eyes, she looked up see Trunks' equally fearful azure ones. He was shaken by the quick turn of events but he held tight to her right hand with his own. Grateful, anxious sighs were released as they hovered a story above the ground. The dense crowd below raved and bellowed in an orchestration of cheers at the heroic rescue!

Still breathing heavily, Trunks managed to ask, "Are...you…ok?"

Camisa nervously laughed. "I…am…now…"

Trunks pulled her into his arms and joked, "I guess you're out of energy. I'll fly us back to the shop."

"Hang on tight, ok?" A tense nod and quick wrap of her arms around Trunks' neck was all she need say before he bolted into the black sky faster than the words left his mouth. Through the whipping winds and snapping hair, Trunks could feel her still shaking against his body. Again, he had forgotten that, although her skill said otherwise, she had not been flying her entire life and still possessed a fear of falling unlike him. But even she should have known better that someone would proverbially catch her when she falls.

In a matter of minutes, they were back beneath the Elppa trees in the back yard and it took a few seconds for Camisa's mind to register the area—the ground—before she unsteadily released herself to a shaky stand.

"Alright. I think I am good now." She barely proclaimed as she eyed the black terra ecstatically. Her hands rested on Trunks' shoulders to help her gain her balance.

In consequence, he grabbed her by her biceps and laughed at her awkward stance. "You sure about that?" he joked.

A deep breathe escaped her curved lips before she stood straight and the two of them perpetually slid their hands off one another. "I am now."

"Well, we should probably head inside." Trunks stated after their awkward moment had ended.

"Yes, let's go?" as she grasped his wrist in her stumble, she let go when the vibration of his watch had startled her. "What is that?"

"Oh." Trunks scanned over the LCD screen at the message that had popped up. _'Four missed transmissions? Must be my mother.'_ True, it had only been two days on Merle but it was the equivalent of a week or so back on earth. Opting to return to his ship, he turned to the confused girl and said, "I have to go."

"Go? Go where?" she asked.

"I must return to my ship. It seems I have missed transmission waiting to be checked."

Although she was confused by what a "missed transmission" was, Camisa turned down his request sweetly. "I am afraid you will have to wait morning for you take your leave Trunks.

"And why's that?" he huffily asked. "My ship is only twenty miles or so from the city gates.

"Well, you see, after the city gates, there is absolutely no sort of lighting in the countryside; vision would be nearly impossible." She frowned.

She hoped her honest reason would settle with Trunks and that he would not think she spoke false words. Trunks sighed. "Alright. I'll stay another night. But I must leave by morning."

Dissatisfaction befell her slim face as Camisa turned slightly in aversion of the Saiyan gaze. Seeing her puckered brow, Trunks was prompted to change his tone and bargain, "I'll come back as soon as I'm done checking on the ship; deal?."

A bright smile lit her face as she opened the back sliding door. "We have a de-al!"


	7. Chapter Seven: Notice

**Chapter Seven**

**Notice**

**x-x-x**

"_I have gone into the city to do some shopping…I will be back in hour…~ Camisa"_ was written in red on the silky cream paper tacked against the wall.

It was the first thing Trunks ran his sleepy eyes over as he awoke in Camisa's bed the next day. As he read it over again, the calligraphy was what caught his attention: it was stunningly quixotic in style. It was largely written, straight, widely spaced, and right-aligned and signed with an illegible signature.

If there were any useless subjects Trunks believed would never come in handy, he would apologize to his mother formally for teaching him Graphology. In his youth his mother would rant on about how even one's script was a means to seeing character and would make him practice penmanship almost as much as his father made him train. Still, he pondered the structure of the written message and concluded in the name of the unattested field that Camisa was a disciplined and methodical woman: a compassionate wallflower with a fast moving mind. He concluded such of her memo, but of her signature? Its inability to be read seemed sketchy; he had only seen this done a few time with individuals who had adopted a separate public persona when they attempted to hide something. Was Camisa doing the same?

But he knew better than to rely on a gypsy-pseudo-science before speculation became over-analyzation. If she had a double life it was something he would have to wait for her to reveal. He decided it was best to bury the information in the back of his mind during his catlike stretch off of Camisa's futon. Once he stepped out of his borrowed room, he was greeted by the fluorescent glow that enveloped everything in his line of vision. The house was a fully illuminated maze that Trunks' eyes struggled to adjust to as he trotted down the stairs and called out for Aki-Oba.

The stilled quiet rang in response.

A bright bouquet of exotic flowers teased his already impaired vision while he rounded the corner into the kitchen. Beneath the glass amphora another note stated the whereabouts of the old proprietor. Written lightly and stridently, the note read,_ "Mr. Briefs: I am out making preparations for my trip to my village, Hui-Liem for the Alignment Celebration. Please, help yourself to the contents of our kitchen and do make yourself comfortable. I should be back sometime in the late afternoon. Do enjoy your stay. ~ A.O.C.H.L."_

'_She's so formal she's definitely hiding something…'_ he mentally joked. Even though the old woman offered her home to him, Trunks decided after a quick glance at the time, he should eat something light and get back to the ship. He quaintly devoured a few bowls of rice before setting out into the early two o'clock sky. He was beginning to hope this late rising would not become a habit. The soft silhouettes of the moons were still visible and he followed them as they and his watch led him back to the grove where his ship was. Passing over the main gates, he wondered who the transmissions were from. _'They are probably from mother. I hope she isn't too upset. Or Goten; more news about his engagement maybe?'_

As he drew upon the patch where the Lemniscate was hidden, his anticipation fizzled into bafflement; he had not expected to find it empty. The flabbergasted Saiyan explored the surrounding area thoroughly before he landed where the ship should have been. This was one situation he could **not** believe! With out a second thought he tapped the alarm button on the watch to see if perhaps whoever had taken the ship hadn't gotten too far. A few stray breezes sounded as if in response to his watch. He silenced the alarm and searched the field for vain evidence. Nothing, not even a flake of scraped metal or footprints was found. His heart began to pound with frantic anxiety: where in the world could a five ton ship have been moved to without any type of disturbance?

Too aggravated and annoyed, all Trunks wanted to do was yell at this nonsensicality. _'Just why? For what reason would anybody—?'_ And then it hit him.

Literally.

A rock that seemingly materialized out of thin air crashed down onto his head. After the initial pain, Trunks picked up the small stone with a note strung to it. Hastily, he discarded the rock and opened the folded paper. _ 'Of course…' _he sardonically thought as he scanned over the sheet of Merlesion characters with burning eyes. Even the fact that the robber left an illegible note boiled his blood. But instead of singeing the tattered letter like his father would have done out of choler, his maternal side enlightened his senses to bring the note back to the Shomon House and wait for the only Merlesion he knew that could possibly decipher the message.

'_I'm sure she'll have no problem helping me.'_ He reassured himself as he blasted back to wards his prior location. _'But still…what would anyone have to gain out of taking the Lemniscate? Scrap metal would be hard to attain from it; it's virtually indestructible. Selling it on the black market would be dumb as well; since I'm the only one on this planet who knows how to open it or even run it for that matter. The merchant might as well sell a giant, unusable metal ball!_

Trunks jogged to the back door, anxiously hoping the old goat would be sitting at her table enjoying a cup of tea. But what he happened upon as he peered through the glass into the kitchen disturbed him even further. Either the house came to life and threw up its containments or someone broke in because the table set was flipped and thorn a skew and the flowers had pooled into a blackening lake atop the drenched note. Trunks entered cautiously, tucking the note into his jacket, and treated each corner as a possible threat. Portraits lay broken on the floor leading to the wooden stairs that bore fresh scratches and marks. '_There was definitely a struggle. No doubt about that…'_

He ascended the stairwell into the narrow hallways where the damage had worsened tenfold. Both celadon walls on his sides had been smashed in, blood from the epicenter had seeped into the tributary cracks. The once closed doors barely held to their hinges had spilled forth their contents into the hall, creating a minefield of crumpling and crunching sounds at Trunks' light steps. As he neared the end of the hall, he came upon Aki-Oba's room. It only took one step to close to it before a broom had swat down at him from the doorway. Trunks jumped back out of range, catching eyes with his elderly assailant and gasped, "Aki-Oba!"

"Oh! Trunks! My apologizes!" she hugged the broom back to her body and walked up to him. "I didn't know it was you."

He straightened up and his confusion dissipated into momentary delight. "It's alright, but do you know what happened?"

"I-I am not entire sure. But it must have to do with my granddaughter. Whatever she's gotten herself into, it must be worse than I feared! I can only assume that who ever broke in came and forcefully kidnapped her!"

Trunks immediately went on the defense. He balled his fist at the thought of his new friend coming to harm again. He naively wanted to believe her earlier excursion bade her safety from the travesty before him. "What makes you think that?"

Aki-Oba pointed the brush end of the broom to Camisa's room. Trunks briskly walked into the girl's room and at the sight before him, his fearful heart forgot how to beat. Flakes of cushioning and paper kept recycling in the convectional wind that blew in through the broken windows and the table had been cleanly sliced down its length. As he trudged farther into the decimated room, he smelled the sweet iron odor of blood every where but he could not pin point the location of the overwhelming scent. Although he felt the bed had the strongest scent, he wasn't prepared for what he saw next. He turned to leave, and on the back of Camisa's door, he was confronted by the putrescent mash of blood. Crimson and navy hand prints and smear marks still dripped down the paper, in between the scratches and caught strands of brown and black hairs in their tiny streams. He couldn't bare it.

He rushed past it, trying to hold his anger in, and pulled the note out of his pocket. "Aki-Oba, I know whoever did this took Camisa and my ship as well! They left this note; it's written in your language…could you translate it?" he breathlessly handed her the folded note.

She nearly snatched it and her already worried face fell into deeper despair. "This is written in Old Merlesion. Not many of our people can still write in this."

"But can _you_ translate it?" he asked again. He watched her as she scanned over the note, mouthing the message under her breath in her harsh tongue. He had to admit that her suspense was killing him. It forced Trunks to loosen himself into a calmer, more quieted stance, as he watched her brow furrow and her body tense and shuffle among the paper nest below her hooves. Particularly he starred at the one signed _'~Camisa'_ and picked it up. Some how he couldn't stomach to read it smeared in blood.

"Trunks," she finally gasped. "You were…right. This note was written by the foulest criminal Merle has to offer: Ghito. I've heard many a tale of his heists and murders…" Aki-Oba had to lean against the wall as her fear overwhelmed her.

"Please Aki-Oba…is there any information on where they went?" He desperately pleaded.

"Taahrujka: 4403-j7 South district." was all she said. She fell to her knees and broke down into tears. "Trunks, he is going to murder her!"

"No, he won't. I promise I'll bring her back." he spat. Camisa's bloodied note met a crumpled end in Trunks' fist. He brought his host to her feet and held her hands. "Alive."

x-A/N: -evil snicker-…And as for the next chapter…I going to make it sick…R&R Guys!-x


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